'Export target can't be achieved under present economic trends'

President of Pakistan Tehreek Insaf (PTI) Balochistan women wing, Fehmida Jamali is not optimistic that Pakistan would be able to achieve exports of $35 billion by 2018, stressing that the global economic slowdown and failure of Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) policies would prove to be a big hurdle in the government's ambitious target.
"I don't think the export target can be achieved under the present economic trends," she said. "If we take a look on figures, total exports were reported at $18 billion between January 2016 and October 2016. This figure is lower than the total exports of $19 billion reported for the corresponding period in 2015," she said. Although, the decline in exports is attributed to a global slowdown in demand to some extent, but this trend must be investigated as the export base for Pakistan is not only limited to a few products but is mostly confined to low-valued products that are susceptible to price shocks.
As total of Pakistan exports have declined by more than 12 percent between 2013 and 2015. This decline is disconcerting, particularly as lower oil prices since 2014 were expected to improve the trade deficit. The expected outlook, as reported by the State Bank of Pakistan, for 2016 does not look promising.
In the statement issued on Friday, she said the developed and advanced countries, such as the European Union and the United States, tend to impose higher levels of Non-tariff measures (NTMs) on imports from developing countries, particularly where sub-standard products are prevalent. Therefore, trade policies should ensure that trade obstacles due to NTMs are reduced so that new exporters can participate in international trading activities.
"Fehmida said it is imperative to pursue industrial and trade policies that promote value addition within Pakistan. Such a strategy should involve a focus on the exports of consumer goods to their more important destination markets. This will ensure a reduction in the volatility of exports".-PR